


Dating blues

by thecarlonethatalsowrites



Category: Runaways (Comics), Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Fluff, I honestly have no idea how to tag this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-15 12:45:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13613655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecarlonethatalsowrites/pseuds/thecarlonethatalsowrites
Summary: Karolina can’t seem to get a date, but at least she isn’t the only oneOr college au where Nico and Karolina are basically married and everyone but them knows it





	Dating blues

All around Karolina the ebb and flow of café conversation filled Timely. At 3 pm, the coffee shop was a hub of energetic student activity — kids who had just gotten out of their last class of the day, others who were caffeinating in preparation for the rest of their classes, and a few who just wanted to catch up with friends at the end of the week. The whole shop thrummed with activity, fueled by the scent of coffee. The whole shop, that was, aside from the small bubble of space around Karolina’s table where the atmosphere was lifeless.

Karolina herself was the source of the dead air. Her aura of disappointment was that strong. She listlessly rotated her untouched coffee cup in place on the table, watching her name scrawled near the top spin in and out of sight. The drink was probably lukewarm now, and since Karolina didn’t want it when she ordered it, she definitely didn’t want it now.

Someone else did though, as a hand with black polish on its nails and heavy rings on its fingers snuck into view and grabbed the cup by its lid. With practiced movements so as to not spill the drink everywhere, it snatched the coffee out of Karolina’s weak grip and raised it to maroon painted lips to take a sip.

“Ugh, what is this crap? And why is it cold?” Nico asked as she fell into the seat next to Karolina.

“Because I ordered it like twenty minutes ago,” Karolina said. “It’s a green tea latte.” Nico stuck out her tongue and pretended to gag.

“There’s not enough caffeine in this,” she said. “I didn’t know you like this kind of drink.”

“I don’t,” Karolina said. “I just ordered the first thing I saw on the menu.” Nico’s eyebrows drew together and she set the coffee back on the table. The lid had faint dark smudges from her lipstick that drew Karolina’s attention briefly. 

“What’s wrong?” Nico asked, knocking her shoulder into Karolina’s lightly. Karolina looked up from the table to see the beginnings of concern in Nico’s gaze. She knew the longer she delayed the more it would grow, so she sucked it up and spilled to her friend.

“I asked Julie Power out,” she said.

“That’s great!” Nico squeezed Karolina’s forearm.

“She said no,” Karolina said flatly.

“Oh,” Nico said. “Well, that sucks.”

“Totally.” Karolina nodded. “And she wouldn’t even tell me why besides she didn’t want to get involved with something complicated.”

“What does  _ that _ mean?” Nico asked, her face screwed up in confusion.

“I don’t know,” Karolina huffed. She crossed her arms and slouched in her seat. “And I haven’t been able to figure it out.” She reached for her latte and took a sip, not bothering to wipe away Nico’s lipstick. “Eugh. You’re right, this is disgusting.”

“Okay, that’s enough of that,” Nico said, taking the cup away from Karolina. “I’m taking this away and buying you some actual caffeine, and then we’re going to talk until you forget about Julie.” She stood up and headed toward the counter, dumping the cold latte in the trash on her way.

Karolina leaned out of her seat, shouting after her, “You’re the best!” Nico gave a small wave without looking behind her as if to say “I know” and Karolina grinned. This was exactly why Nico was her best friend. Five minutes after arriving she’d already cheered her up. The dark cloud surrounding her table had all but disappeared. It was as though Nico had absorbed it into her outfit.

Karolina was still chuckling at the thought when Nico returned to the table holding two cups much larger than the one she confiscated from Karolina. She held one out and Karolina took it, making sure to brush her fingers along Nico’s as a sign of gratitude. 

Nico dropped into the seat she vacated a few minutes ago, throwing her arm around Karolina’s shoulders. Karolina grinned and took a sip of her new drink. She sighed happily as the heat nearly burned her tongue — black coffee, her and Nico’s favorite. It took Karolina a long time to wean her friend off the sugary abomination of caffeine she couldn’t help but like, even though it was terrible for her that she drank it every day. Black coffee always tasted like victory ever since, for some reason.

“You’ll never guess what Victor Mancha did in bio today,” Nico said, letting her tone edge on dramatic. She took a drink before continuing, gesturing with her free hand as she told the admittedly hilarious story. Her hand brushed Karolina’s cheek a few times, adding to the weight of her arm around her shoulders serving as a constant reminder of the contact.

Nico was never very tactile, but Karolina was. It meant a lot that her friend was going to specific lengths to make Karolina feel better. Karolina found herself laughing easily at Nico’s unfortunately clumsy classmate’s misfortune with his toothpick and marshmallow glucose structure. She forgot all about the bitterness of rejection — why should she be upset when she had Nico?

* * *

 

“Okay, this is fucking ridiculous,” Nico spat as she collapsed into the chair next to Chase, startling him so badly he accidentally threw his pen halfway across the library. She slouched down and planted her elbows on the table, resting her cheeks in her palms. A few students around them shushed her for her volume and she adjusted her hands so both her middle fingers were extended.

“What’s up?” Alex asked at a much quieter volume as Chase scrambled out of his chair to retrieve his pen. Nico waited for him to return to answer.

“Victor told me he didn’t want to go out anymore. He said I’m not his type,” she said. “That’s a complete 180 of what he said a week ago.” Karolina felt a sympathetic pang and extended her foot under the table. She rested it lightly on Nico’s, who shot her a slightly less angry look Karolina interpreted as gratitude.

“Boys are fickle,” Gert scoffed

“Hey!” Alex protested

“I’m right here.” Chase spread his arms incredulously.

“Not you babe.” Gert reached across the table and patted his arm comfortingly. “You qualify as a man. And Alex, you’ve been a grown up since the womb.” Karolina’s hand flew to her mouth to stifle the laugh that threatened to burst forth. She shared a look with Nico, who also looked like she was fighting giggles. Gert may have had a point with Alex, but she flicked her eyes toward Chase, who was grinning like a little kid at Christmas, then back to Nico. Nico shook her head and grinned.

“He’s not worth your time anyway,” Alex said. Chase nudged Nico with an elbow. 

“That guy gives me bad vibes...do you want me to beat him up for you?” The last part he said rather cheerfully, his tone completely clashing with his words. It earned him a smile of his own.

“Nah, thanks for the offer, though,” Nico said. Chase shrugged.

“It does not have an expiration date,” he said. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re here. I need help with this paper, and these guys won’t stop making fun of my title.” Nico dragged his notebook toward her so she could get a look.

“‘Funky Cats and their Feisty Stats’?” She read aloud. Despite their best efforts, Gert, Alex, and Karolina burst into laughter once again. “You took this from a tv show.”

“My professor is like, eighty. He won’t know the reference,” Chase said with a glare at his friends across the table.

“It’s ok, Nico, we told him the exact same thing,” Karolina said, running her foot gently up Nico’s shin. When she slid down again, Nico trapped her foot under her own with a quick but firm motion. She sent a playful glare at Karolina, who tried to wriggle away.

“You guys are no help at all,” Chase grumbled, ignorant of the game of footsie going on under the table. He started to pull his notebook away but Nico stopped him.

“Don’t overreact. I’m sure it’s one of the many things I’m going to suggest you change,” she said, making Alex, Karolina, and Gert laugh again. They received several more shushes for their volume. Chase sighed dramatically before relinquishing his paper.

“Why does everyone always have fun at my expense?” He asked as Nico hunched over his essay. She held her hand out for his pen, which he gave her, and scratched out an entire line.

“Hey, we make fun of Alex, too. And Karolina and Nico basically hand us material,” Gert said. “It’s just more fun to tease you.”

“You’re the worst girlfriend ever,” Chase said, only half joking. He winced as Nico continued to go to town on his paper.

“Oh yeah?” Gert challenged. “Then why have I been recording Karolina and Nico playing footsie this whole time for future blackmail material?” She pulled her arms out from under the table to show off her phone screen displaying a Snapchat video of Nico and Karolina’s game.

“You sneak!” Karolina gasped, although she was impressed with how accurately Gert aimed the camera without even looking. “Delete that!”

“Gotcha, save it forever.” Gert turned the screen back toward herself, her thumbs tapping away. “I sent it to you, Alex, and Molly,” she said to Chase.

“Sweet.” He gave a mini fist pump. Alex sent a smug look at Karolina.

“You just got Gerted,” he said while doing a weird shimmying dance with his shoulders.

“You know, if you didn’t want me to edit this essay you could have just said so,” Nico drawled, glancing deviously at Karolina.

“No, please! You’re my last hope it’s due tomorrow and I still have to type it,” Chase begged. He continued babbling and pushing his notebook back toward Nico, who was trying to slide it to him. Karolina laughed at their antics.

“Come on, Nico. Be nice,” Karolina said. She even went as far as pouting slightly until Nico rolled her eyes and took back the essay. Gert coughed a word that sounded suspiciously like “whipped” but Karolina ignored her and smiled sweetly at Nico, who couldn’t help but smile in return.

Despite the teasing she endured for it, Karolina kept her foot near Nico’s for the rest of their study session. They barely touched, and Karolina wasn’t sure Nico could even feel her through her heavy boots. But Nico kept looking up from her work to send small smiles Karolina’s way. Those smiles were Karolina’s reward for her successful attempts to distract Nico, and a wave of pride rose in her chest.

So what if Victor Mancha couldn’t see how cool and sweet Nico really was? He could stick it, as far as Karolina was concerned. And really, Nico could do way better than him anyway. It was no big deal. Right?

* * *

Karolina tapped the bottom of her laptop, impatiently waiting for her skype to load. Tuesday nights were reserved for her calls with Molly, and she looked forward to them almost as much as she did to her coffee dates with Nico. 

Though Molly was three years younger, she and Karolina bonded in high school over the fact that each was considered outsiders, though everyone expected Karolina to be popular and Molly desperately wanted to be. Having time carved out to talk with the younger girl was extremely important to Karolina ever since she went away to college, and she was missing that time as her slow internet connection continued to eat away at it.

Finally, her Skype recognized that yes, she actually was connected to the internet and loaded the three missed calls she already had from Molly. As she watched, another incoming call popped up. Before it could ring twice, Karolina answered.

“Hey, Molly!” She greeted the fuzzy video feed on her screen. Molly was sitting at her desk and in the background, Karolina could see the disaster in her room, as she was currently in the process of redecorating her walls with new posters.

“Hi, Karolina.” Molly waved. “You’re late.”

“I know, sorry. My internet is horrible right now,” she said. She tucked her feet underneath her and shifted the pillows she was leaning against into a more comfortable position so the wall only felt a little uncomfortable rather than really uncomfortable. “How’s life? Is that hip-hop group working out for you?” Molly grinned smugly.

“Tryouts are long closed, but I think they’ve finally realized what they’re missing,” she reported. “At the Fall Ball, I totally tore up the dancefloor.”

“That’s awesome!” Karolina said.

“Yeah, but it wasn’t as fun without you guys there. I still get a lot of street cred for being friends with older kids, but everyone is still too intimidated because of it. I don’t really have anyone to hang out with now you all are at college.”

“I’m sorry,” Karolina said. “They’ll get over it, though. Especially now that you’ve started to show them just how awesome you are by yourself.”

“Thanks, K,” Molly said. She leaned forward in her chair to get closer to the screen, and Karolina felt a twinge of unease at the look on her face. “Now what’s this I hear about you getting turned down by that Julie chick?” Karolina groaned.

“Gert told you about that, huh?” She asked.

“Yep,” Molly said. “She was very smug about it.”

“Of course she was,” Karolina sighed. “I’m not the only one with dating woes. Did she tell you that Nico’s thing with Victor fizzled out?”

“Really? That sucks.” Molly grimaced. “Neither of them wanted to get involved in anything complicated, you know?”

“Ok, hang on a second,” Karolina said. She sat up and leaned closer to her laptop. “That’s exactly what Julie said when she turned me down, and I have no idea what it means. I’m not complicated! Am I?”

“No. Well, not really. It took Gert explaining it to me a few times, but I understand how open relationships and polyamory work now,” Molly said. “I guess some people just don’t want to understand.

“Wait, what? Polyamory?” Karolina wracked her brain for a definition and ended up with only a vague outline of one.

“Yeah! I mean, I didn’t think you and Nico were the kind of couple to want that, but it’s cool.” Her words made Karolina freeze.

“Nico and I are a couple?” She croaked. Molly scrunched her eyebrows together but before she could respond Karolina spoke up. “Can I call you back tomorrow?”

“Yeah, sure, but-” she didn’t hear the rest of what Molly was saying because she hung up on the call at the first sign of agreement. 

Her hand flew to her bed, searching through the covers for her phone. Her fingers brushed against something hard among the soft blankets, and she snatched up her phone to dial Nico.

“Apparently we’re dating,” she blurted out when Nico picked up after a few rings.

“What?” Nico yelped. Karolina winced at her lack of finesse. She probably could have approached this with a little more delicacy.

“The reason we both got turned down is that everyone thinks we’re already dating,” she explained. She absently stroked one hand over her fuzzy blanket as Nico replied.

“That’s ridiculous. We…” Nico trailed off and Karolina could practically hear the wheels turning in her head. “Oh my God we kind of are.” It was Karolina’s turn to be bewildered.

“Huh?” She said for lack of an intelligent response.

“Karolina, we literally go on coffee dates every week. Coffee  _ dates _ ? People probably saw us drinking out of the same cup when you ordered that green tea abomination. That’s a couples thing to do,” Nico said.

“But even Gert thinks so,” Karolina protested. “And she knows us...oh, wait. Footsies.”

“You sound so affronted at the idea,” Nico drawled. Karolina blushed deeply, glad Nico couldn’t see her.

“What? No, I just don’t want you to feel weird. Because this isn’t weird, right?”

“Oh, it’s weird,” Nico confirmed. “But at least it makes sense.” Not really. Karolina didn’t want to dwell on it, especially because of her complicated feelings for Nico, but she could only vaguely understand this whole situation.

“So what do we do about it?” Karolina asked. Nico made a noncommittal noise.

“Who says we have to do anything?” Nico paused like she was working up the courage to say something. “I wouldn’t mind dating you,” she said before clearing her throat conspicuously.

Her words made Karolina’s jaw drop. In Nico speak they were practically a love confession, and Karolina’s heart soared at the thought. Of course she wanted to date Nico — she’d wanted to for years. And to think she could have been doing so this entire time…

“Hello? Karolina, did I break you?” Nico’s words startled her out of her thoughts.

“Um, a little,” Karolina said, her voice embarrassingly high. She cleared her throat before continuing. “So, like, what? Tomorrow will be an actual date?” They had a planned meeting at Timely anyway.

“One we’ll be in on, for once,” Nico said. “I’ll see you then?”

“See you then,” Karolina said before hanging up. She stared at her phone dumbly for a few moments before a huge grin broke out on her face.

She was going on a date. A real one. One she had wanted to go on for almost as long as she’d known Nico. Normally she might be nervous but seeing as it was Nico she couldn’t feel anything but excitement. She flopped back on her bed and clutched her phone to her chest. She was grinning like an idiot — if her roommate came home right now she’d probably ask if Karolina had lost her mind. Karolina would argue that she found something better.

As she lay there, another thought popped into Karolina’s mind. She raised her phone and opened it to her messages.

**Karolina 9:38**

Thanks, Molly. I owe you one

**Molly 9:40**

??? Okay???

* * *

The atmosphere at Timely was, as usual, lively and energetic. But no one was more excited than Karolina, who was sitting at her and Nico’s table with her knee bouncing in excitement. She basically had to force herself not to show up half an hour early. Now she was here, she craned her neck to keep her view of the door around the other patrons, keeping an eye out for Nico who was yet to arrive. 

Karolina was doing her best not to put much pressure on their first real date, but with all her excitement it was hard not to. She told herself that it didn’t have to be any different than their normal hangouts, seeing as those were enough to get people to think they were together. That they were in on it was the only thing that really changed.

All her thoughts flew out the door when it opened for Nico to step into the shop. Karolina grinned goofily, giving a little wave. Nico smiled back and Karolina relaxed, forgetting why she was stressed in the first place.

“Hey, sorry I’m a little late,” Nico said once she made her way to Karolina’s table, “my prof would  _ not _ stop talking after class was over.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Karolina said. Nico slung her bag into the empty seat across from her and jerked her head to the line at the register.

“Did you order yet?” Karolina shook her head.

“I was waiting for you.”

“Wow, I guess chivalry really isn’t dead,” Nico said as Karolina stood up.

“Oh, shush.” She rolled her eyes, fighting the blush that threatened to redden her cheeks. 

They walked over to the line at the register together. Karolina was relieved that it seemed a little bit shorter than it was while she waited for Nico. She was so intent on counting how many people were in front of them that she nearly jumped out of her skin when Nico grabbed her wrist and squeezed, hard.

“What?” She turned her attention to Nico, who was staring at a corner of the café. Karolina followed her gaze. “Oh.”

“What are the chances?” Nico said, still staring overtly at Julie, who was sitting at a table with her laptop. She seemed unaware of their presence.

“I mean, it’s a pretty popular place,” Karolina pointed out. Nico rolled her eyes, still not letting go of Karolina’s wrist. “Hang on...are you jealous?”

“What?” Nico jumped, her gaze moving from Julie to Karolina. “No. Why would I be jealous?” Karolina grinned stupidly and twisted her wrist to dislodge Nico’s grip.

“Forget about her,” she said quietly before slipping her hand into Nico’s. “I have.” She had no idea where her bravery was coming from, and for a moment she panicked as Nico stared at her intently. But then she looked away toward the line in front of them, her mouth curled up into a smile. She leaned against Karolina so the entire length of their arms were touching and Karolina’s grin widened. 

She felt warmth radiating within her from where her skin came into contact with Nico’s. Though she felt a bit like a creep, Karolina couldn’t avert her stare. Nico didn’t seem to mind, which was good because Karolina didn’t think she’d be able to stop. She was half afraid that if she looked away the whole shop would dissolve and she’d wake up from some kind of extravagant dream. 

While Karolina was out of it, she didn’t realize that they reached the register and Nico had already ordered their drinks and paid for it. She only came too when Nico tugged her off to the side to wait for their order.

“Here, let me pay you back.” Karolina reached into her pocket for her wallet. To do so she tried to let go of Nico’s hand, but Nico held her tight.

“Karolina, it’s ok. Don’t worry about it,” she said.

“But you bought me coffee last week. It’s my turn today.”

“Maybe you should have paid attention instead of staring at me.” Nico smirked and Karolina felt her face heat up. She refused to back down, though.

“I’m serious. Let me pay you back.”

“Oh my god, you can pay next time,” Nico exclaimed, stopping Karolina’s thought process in its tracks.

“Next time?” She asked. “You mean like, second date next time?”

“I mean, I don’t know. You’re kind of blundering this one so far.” Nico pulled a face to make Karolina laugh.

“Oh, you’re on. I’m going to romance you so hard,” she said through giggles. Though their hands were still linked she maneuvered her arm so it was draped over Nico’s shoulder. 

“You think you’re so smooth,” Nico said, allowing Karolina to pull her closer. Karolina grinned at how easy she was making this

“You have no idea,” she said, lowering her voice an octave and leaning close to Nico’s ear. Nico tensed and her mouth opened to respond, but Karolina noticed their order at the pickup counter. “Hey, look! Our coffee.” 

She let go of Nico and skipped over to the counter, smiling at the barista as her hands wrapped around the warm cardboard sleeves. She turned back toward Nico, who was staring at her with an unreadable expression on her face. Karolina jerked her head in the direction of their table as she started towards for it. Nico paused for only a moment before following.

“You’re kind of evil, you know?” Nico said as she dropped into her seat across from Karolina.

“I have no idea what you mean,” Karolina said as she took a tiny sip of her coffee.

“Of course you don’t.” Nico rolled her eyes. She popped the lid off her cup and even in the warm coffee shop steam from her drink swirled in the air above the liquid. 

Karolina took the opportunity to look over Nico’s shoulder while Nico was preoccupied with her drink. From her seat, she could see practically the entire shop, but her focus narrowed on one corner in particular. Unlike when Nico was scrutinizing her, Julie looked up as though she could feel Karolina’s gaze. She still felt the sting of rejection at the sight of her, but for some reason, it didn’t feel so bad right now. Karolina jumped as Nico touched her arm and broke her concentration.

“I’m sorry, I know—” Karolina cut herself off, caught off guard at the intense way Nico was looking at her. She seemed to be searching for something in Karolina’s face and apparently found it. Nico leaned towards Karolina and kissed her. It was hardly more than a brief caress of their lips, but Karolina still froze up. “What—”

“This is a date, right?” Nico asked. “People kiss on dates. And besides,” she slid her hand back into Karolina’s, “I want to make sure you really are over her.” Nico’s words sent a flood of warmth through Karolina, and she felt a goofy smile cross her face.

“You know, I think I just might be,” she said happily. Suddenly, a single clear thought pierced through the contented fog in her brain. Her tone changed completely as she spoke up again. “What about you? With Victor, I mean.” Nico blinked in surprise and she was silent for a few moments before responding.

“Honestly? I think I just liked the attention,” she said quietly. “And if it was between Victor’s attention and yours? I’d try to get yours every time.”

“Oh my God.” Karolina ducked her head, butting into Nico’s shoulder. “That was so sappy.”

“I heard it after I said it too,” Nico bemoaned. “Just because it’s true doesn’t mean it wasn’t total cheese.” Karolina lifted her head from Nico’s shoulder but didn’t move any further away. She was only halfway in her seat and the proximity made her feel somewhat dizzy, but Karolina didn’t really mind at all.

“You know, I’m pretty okay with cheesiness,” she said before leaning in to give Nico a proper kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this silly fic! Your feedback fuels my writing, so if you want to see more, tell me what you liked! Thanks for reading!


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